Stowe Vermont is an internationally recognized touristdestination and has the highest number of monthly short term rental listings ofall municipalities in Vermont. The town leadership wanted to know how STRs wereimpacting the local economy. Are short-term rentals taking long-term housing opportunitiesaway from workforce households? Or do they produce jobs and give local entrepreneursnew business opportunities by providing flexible, alternative visitor accommodation?Do STRs encourage real-estate speculation and increase property valuations, ordo they provide additional income to homeowners to help pay down rising housingcosts? Do they support a sustainable tourism economy by increasing foot trafficfor local businesses or do they damage community character? The answer is both yesand no. The national debate about short-termrentals generates plenty of talking points for both sides of the argument butfails to provide real solutions. This isbecause all real estate markets are local and what really matters is the degreeto which these metrics are true locally. Crane Associates was hired by the Townof Stowe to develop a data-driven analysis of the economic impacts of STRs intown. The analysis included: creating a factual database of real estatetransactions, STR revenue, nights booked, STR inventory by unit type, size, ownershipcategory, and homestead status; a statewide statistical comparative analysis; economicanalysis on the incentives to own STRs in Stowe that includes real estate capitalizationrates, commercial valuations, ROI, and other investor metrics; competitivity analysisto local hotels that compares occupancy rates, RevPAR, and demand by accommodationtype; environmental and social impacts including water and electricity usage, vehicletrip generations and demand for emergency services. The analysis is being usedto create reasonable mitigation and policy regulations.
